[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5469-5470]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           OVERALL TAX RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Graves). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2001, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Grucci) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GRUCCI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues to 
express my tremendous support for providing America's working families 
with much

[[Page 5470]]

needed, reasonable and equitable tax relief. This legislative body 
needed to act comprehensively and quickly to implement a reasonable and 
fair tax relief package that will benefit our middle-class families, 
small businesses, and farmers.
  In New York's First Congressional District, where the cost of living 
is higher than in many regions of our Nation, the tax relief package we 
have approved will help jump start our local economy and put the money 
back where it belongs, in the pockets of the hard-working families.
  We have helped our families through the Marriage Penalty and Family 
Tax Relief Act, and the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act, and our 
small family businesses and farmers will benefit from our efforts here 
today to repeal the death tax. Through all of the components of this 
tax relief package, we are providing the reasonable and meaningful tax 
relief that our farmers, our small businesses, and our families have 
been calling for.
  For far too long, hard-working married couples have been unfairly 
taxed by an average of $1,400 a year simply for the privilege of living 
inside the institution of marriage. In New York's First District alone, 
an estimated 56,134 families will receive significant tax relief under 
this measure. These 56,134 families could potentially put their savings 
towards their children's education, home improvements, a new computer, 
investments in their future, or a down payment on their first car.
  According to the CBO, most marriage penalties occur when the higher-
earning spouse makes between $20,000 to $75,000. The current Tax Code 
punishes working married couples by placing them in a higher tax 
bracket. The marriage penalty taxes the income of the second wage 
earner at a higher rate than if the wage earner were taxed as a single 
individual. This is just simply unfair.
  The death tax currently taxes up to 60 percent of a family's farm or 
business, killing the small family-owned businesses and the stores that 
line the Main Streets of our downtown communities throughout this great 
land. These families who own farms on the east end of Long Island and 
the small businesses that compromise the very fabric of Long Island's 
economy have worked hard all of their lives. Working together with 
their families, they reached for the American dream, paying their taxes 
all the way along the way and made positive contributions to our 
society. They should not be penalized by being taxed again in death. 
That is just simply immoral, unfair, and wrong.
  The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act will give hard-working middle-
class families more of their hard-earned money to be used better to 
offset rising costs for each and every family, costs like a college 
education for our young people, a mortgage payment, or they will 
support our small businesses and local economy. These middle-class 
working families earning $50,000 will see a $1,600 reduction in their 
taxes. That is a 50 percent cut. A family of four earning $35,000 would 
see a 100 percent cut. That is fair and that is reasonable.
  Mr. Speaker, that is real tax relief for our middle-class working 
families. This package of reasonable tax relief incentives will leave 
more money in New York State. New York already contributes about $17 
billion more in taxes to Washington than it gets back.
  The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2001 alone will cut that 
deficit by $9.7 billion.
  Now, as a former town supervisor, Mr. Speaker, I know firsthand how 
reasonable tax relief can help families and our local economy create 
thousands of new jobs and create millions of dollars of surplus. The 
hard-working middle-class families of the First District of New York 
and throughout our Nation should have their tax dollars back. We have 
accomplished this while we protected and locked away Social Security 
and Medicare funds and reduced our national debt at historic rates and 
set aside a trillion dollar contingency fund.
  Last of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle for working together on these critical initiatives, 
and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take swift action.

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